Note 74 — Chapter II · THE MAGIC OF WORDS

The peculiar temperament of “us moderns alone” is, I am afraid, more acutely diagnosed by Prof. Weekley, in Surnames, where he observes: “The ‘practical man,’ when his attention is accidentally directed to the starry sky, appraises that terrific spectacle with a non-committal grunt: but he would receive with a positive snort any suggestion that the history of European civilisation is contained in the names of his friends and acquaintances. Still, even the practical man, if he were miraculously gifted with the power of interpreting surnames, could hardly negotiate the length of Oxford Street on a motor-bus without occasionally marvelling and frequently chuckling.”